B12 is an essential “gatekeeper” for allowing nutrients into and waste out of cells. When cells are nourished, they create more ATP (aka cellular energy). When your cells have more energy, YOU have more energy. What’s not to love about that?

Your body needs B12 to create energy and is not well absorbed from the diet or in capsule form.

Everyone can benefit from a B12 shot – especially those who live a busy life, athletes, seniors, vegetarians, vegans, and people on prescription meds.

After B12 injections many patients feel a natural (not jittery) boost in energy.

Why Injections? Can’t I just eat meat or take a pill?

Vitamin B12 is found primarily in animal products – it is highest in organ meats (liver) and in clams. Since most people don’t eat large amounts of these foods, even people who eat a healthy omnivorous diet can wind up deficient. B12 also requires a robust digestive system to be absorbed, so if your digestion is less than optimal, oral B12 sources may not be assimilated into the cells. The effects of high cortisol and stress on the digestive system also inhibit B12 absorption. Because B12 difficult to absorb thru the digestive tract, vitamin B12 injections have increased in popularity in recent years.

How do I know if I’m low in B12?

Many doctors will run serum B12 levels but testing levels of a nutrient in the serum tells us nothing about the intracellular levels. Since all of the action takes place inside the cell, the serum levels aren’t very informative. My favorite way to assess for B12 deficiency is with a comprehensive intracellular micronutrient analysis by Spectracell – this test tells us if you are eating and absorbing all of the micronutrients your body needs. Other tests that may be helpful when evaluating B12 levels are are urinary methyl malonic acid, MTHFR genetic polymorphism analysis, homocysteine and a CBC.

Above all, if you have any of the symptoms on the list above, you can always try B12 injections and see if your symptoms resolve. Since there are very few side effects and no toxicity related to B12 supplementation, it’s worth a shot.